The Supreme Court on Monday said that storing and viewing child pornography is an offense under POCSO and the IT Act. A bench of CJI DY Chandrachud and Justice JB Padriwala set aside the Madras High Court decision, in which the HC said that if a person downloads and watches child pornography, it is not an offence, unless he intends to disseminate it.
Justice JB Padriwala also gave suggestions to Parliament in his decision. He said that the term 'child sexually exploitative and abusive material' should be used instead of child pornography. The court asked the central government to bring an ordinance and change it. The Supreme Court also directed courts not to use the term “child pornography”.
Earlier, while hearing a case on 13 September 2023, the Kerala High Court had said that it is not a crime if a person views obscene photos or videos privately, but it is illegal if he shows them to others.
After an accused was acquitted first in the Kerala High Court and then in the Madras High Court, an NGO approached the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court reserved its decision on August 12.
The Kerala High Court in the order said that downloading and viewing child porn is not an offense under the POCSO Act and the IT Act.
Controversy over 2 Kerala and Madras High Court decisions on pornography….
Kerala High Court said – Watching porn is a person's personal choice, cannot be interfered with
This order was given by the bench of Justice PV Kunhikrishnan of the Kerala High Court. Justice Kunhikrishnan said that pornography has been in vogue for centuries. It is easily accessible in today's digital age. It is available at the fingertips of children and adults.
The question is if a person watches porn in his private time without showing it to others, is it a crime or not? It cannot be classified as a crime as far as the court is concerned, as it can be a personal choice of the individual. Interference with this would amount to an invasion of his privacy.
Madras High Court said – Downloading child porn on phone is not a crime
The Madras High Court on January 11, 2024 quashed a case against an accused under the POCSO Act, citing this observation of the Kerala High Court as a basis. The Madras High Court said that viewing or downloading child pornography on one's device does not fall under the ambit of the offence.
The court made this comment during the hearing of the ongoing case against the 28-year-old man. A case was registered against the man under the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act and the IT Act on charges of child pornography. The court quashed the ongoing case against the accused.
Know in 3 points what are the laws regarding watching porn videos in India
- Viewing porn online is not illegal in India, but the Information Technology Act 2000 prohibits the production, publication and transmission of porn videos.
- Sections 67 and 67A of the Information Technology Act 2000 provide for imprisonment of up to 3 years along with a fine of up to 5 lakh rupees for such offences.
- Apart from this, statutory provisions have also been made in Sections 292, 293, 500, 506 of the IPC to prevent the related offences. In case of child pornography, action is taken under the POCSO Act.
The porn video market is growing rapidly in India The number of mobile phone users is expected to reach 120 crore by 2026. Not only this, the world's top website 'Porn Hub' said that an Indian spends an average of 8 minutes 39 seconds at a time on porn websites. Not only that, 44% of users who watch porn are between the ages of 18 and 24, while 41% of users are between the ages of 25 and 34.
Google has published a report in 2021, in which it is said that India ranks sixth in the world in terms of viewing the most porn. At the same time, according to the Porn Hub Website, Indians are at the third position among the users of this website.
Now see in the graphic which 10 countries in the world are on top in terms of watching pornography…
Image Credit: (Divya-Bhaskar): Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).
